July 02, 2013

MA Church: Shadows in the Night

Today I'm very pleased to welcome my friend MA Church. She's here to talk about her upcoming release "Shadows in the Night", which sounds very exciting!

All
that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the
old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the
frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows
shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless
again shall be king. ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Hey
everyone! I’m M.A. Church and I’m here to talk about my latest
book called Shadows
in the Night from
Dreamspinner, which will be released July 12th.
It’s a paranormal/shifter novel that throws together a modern man,
named Chip, and Jason, a Native American who lived in a time when the
buffalo roamed across the land we now call America.

Now
ask yourself this: What if the Native American history we learned as
children isn’t precisely
right? Is it possible the history books—books written by the White
Man—are nothing more than a combination of a few correct facts and
many inaccuracies? Could there be more
than what we were taught about this proud group of people?

Jason
would tell you that long ago The Great Spirit, who they called
Wha-tay, created Mother Earth, an untouched land filled with beauty
and life. Then her children, The People, were allowed to inhabit the
land. The People settled at The Tree of Life—the soul of Mother
Earth. The People believed the universe was bound together by the
spirits within all natural life—from plants, animals, humans,
water, and even the earth itself.

When
a child was born to The People, that child was joined with a spirit,
a totem. Could be a land spirit, a water spirit, a plant spirit, or
an animal spirit. And once bound, that person had the ability to use
the gifts the spirit had.

But
Time didn’t stand still and, as it moved forward, it brought with
it the White Man, who left in his wake a trail of tears and
destruction. Very few of the original People survived—and those who
did retained the ability to shift, or use whatever ability their
totem spirit had gifted them with.

*grin*
And welcome to my world of shifters, lol. 

Shadows
in the Night

~A
Leap of Faith Novel

Blurb:

When
Chip Riley's beloved granny passes away, she leaves him all her
money, her land, and a house that needs some tender love and care.
She never mentioned the legacy comes with a Native American shifter
who intends to claim Chip as his mate.

Jason
Sky has lived since buffalo roamed the land. When his totem spirit, a
black cougar, saves a little girl, he doesn’t realize that
generations later, her grandson will become his mate, leaving him to
take on a modern man with modern ideas. But that’s the least of his
problems.

Garon,
another shifter with a long-held hatred for Jason, plots to kidnap
Chip and lure Jason to his death. Soon Chip finds himself in an
untenable position between a rock and a hard place. A leap of faith
may be the only way to save himself and the man he’s learned to
love.

Chip
scowled at the phone as he sipped his warm, forgotten beer. Well now,
that was just plain gross. “Tonight’s not good. I think I’m
just going to hang out here.”

“On
a Friday night? Have you lost your mind?”

Chip
leaned back, feet on the coffee table, and turned the volume down on
the TV. “I’ve lost something, but it’s not my mind.”

“Explain,
dude.”

After
a short, intense conversation, he hung up. Once he’d explained what
had happened, Simon tried nicely to talk him into coming on to the
bar. When that hadn’t worked, Simon threatened to show up at his
apartment with all their friends in tow. Knowing Simon meant it, Chip
promised to come to the bar. The last thing he needed was for all of
them to show up at his home. He’d been friends with the
blond-haired, brown-eyed man since college. Simon was what Chip
called a twink. He was a little on the short side, skinny, and
young-looking, even though they were both twenty-three.

Chip
showered quickly and dressed in an old, ripped-up, faded pair of
black Levi’s and a black, short-sleeved knit shirt. He slipped his
feet into his cowboy boots and grabbed his keys. Thirty minutes
later, he was seated at the table with his friends. The bar was
nothing fancy, but it had an open and relaxed atmosphere. It was
clean, the food was cheap but good, and the drinks weren’t watered
down. Apparently, Simon had passed the word about him losing his job,
because no sooner did he sit down than the owner, Gus Hawkins, placed
a beer in front of him.

“I
heard what happened. Sorry, man, it sucks all the way around. This
one, and the next if you want it, is on the house.”

Chip
didn’t know the owner well, but they had spoken a few times. Most
everyone called Gus “Hawk.” He liked the guy, and his friend
Simon was in lust with him. “Thanks, Hawk. I guess bad news travels
fast, huh?”

“Yeah,
it does. Simon told me.” Hawk shrugged as he glanced back at
someone sitting at the main bar. “But things have a way of working
out.”

“Hope
they work out in the next few weeks.” Chip raised the glass and
nodded at Hawk. “Thanks, again.”

“No
problem.” Hawk left after quickly running his eyes over Simon.

“Oh
my God, he’s so damn sexy,” Simon breathed to Chip. “I swear, I
don’t know what kind of aftershave or whatever he uses, but the
scent drives me nuts. Makes me what to climb in his lap and lick him
all over.”

“Down,
boy.” Chip took a sip of his beer. Funny, he hadn’t smelled
anything. Hawk was a big man, tall and well defined with muscular
arms. He had short dark-brown hair with natural red highlights and
hazel eyes. There was a tattoo on his right bicep of a bird. “Why
not make a play for him? For the past two weekends you’ve sat in
here and made googly eyes at the man, but done nothing.”

Simon
looked down at his glass, and for a moment the carefree, happy
attitude that was so him, slipped. “I’ve seen the guys he talks
to, Chip. All big guys, just like him. And older too. See that one
he’s talking to now—the one with the long black hair?”

Chip
turned to the bar. Oh yeah, he’d seen the guy earlier. He had his
back to them, though, so Chip couldn’t get a good look at him.
“So?”

“He’s
as far away from being a twink as you can get.” Simon frowned at
the dark-headed man. “If that’s what interests Hawk, then I don’t
have a chance. That guy’s tall, built, and I swear, there’s this
air of danger about him. Just like Hawk.”

“Yeah,
Hawk does have this… I don’t know what to call it. Edge might be
a good word.” Chip glanced back at the bar. The guy talking to Hawk
had caught his attention from the moment he’d entered the bar. That
hair alone had Chip itching to run his fingers through it—it
reminded him of a black silken waterfall. No one he knew had hair
that long, and this man had hair down to the middle of his back. From
what he could see, the stranger had nicely tanned arms. He wished the
guy would turn around so he could see his face.

“That’s
as good a word as any.” Simon sighed. “However you want to put
it, the fact is Hawk intimidates me. I want to talk to him, but….”

Chip
dragged his attention away from the guy at the bar. “Yeah, well,
don’t go giving up just yet. I saw that look he gave you before he
walked away.”

Simon
perked up. “He did, didn’t he? Wonder if….”

Chip
picked up the menu and ordered a couple of appetizers. If he was
going to have a beer or two, then they needed food. He split his time
between trying to catch a glance of the guy at the bar, talking to
his friends, watching the big screen TVs, and listening to Simon plot
and plan how to catch Hawk’s attention—and if Hawk was gay or bi.
There were times he wanted to beat Simon’s head on the table, then
maybe his own. Hell, at this point, maybe even Hawk’s. This game
these two played was getting old, and Simon just wasn’t brave
enough to make the first move. No straight man looked at another man
the way Hawk’s eyes seared into Simon—that’s a fact.

By
midnight, Chip was tired and ready to go home. Simon and the rest of
their little gang tried to talk him into staying longer, but he’d
had enough. As he was leaving, he glanced back at the main bar. The
man he’d been eyeing all night had left at some point when he
wasn’t looking. Disappointed, Chip made his good-byes, thanked Hawk
again, and left.

He
drove home, paying careful attention to the speed limit. He’d had
maybe a beer and a half and plenty to eat, but still… the last
thing he needed was a damn ticket. When he arrived at the apartment
building, he parked in his usual spot. Immediately he noticed the
antique truck several vehicles down from him.

“Huh,
wonder who this beauty belongs to?” The damn thing looked as good
as the day it was built. “Never seen it here before.”

Chip
admired the truck a few minutes before heading down the breezeway to
the back of the complex where his apartment was located. As his luck
would have it, the light was out.

“Well,
great, isn’t this just nice and dark?” Chip made a mental note to
call the manager in the morning and report it.

This
part of the apartment building was isolated, and having no light back
here was not a good idea. It was already dark enough with the light
on. He’d wanted an apartment in the back because there was a small
ravine with woods close by. He’d actually seen a fair amount of
wildlife back there, which brought back nice memories. It reminded
him of his granny’s home where he’d spent most of his summers. Of
course, that meant he didn’t get light from the street.

“Whew.
Smells like we got ourselves a tomcat around here.” Chip wrinkled
his nose as he opened his door. The smell of ammonia was heavy. “I
think it’s taken a shine to my little patio area. Wow, that’s
strong. God, I hope someone around here isn’t feeding it.”

Chip
made a mental note to ask the manager if they could do something
about the smell. He locked the door and threw his keys on the bar. He
cleaned up his little living area and turned out the lights. With
nothing else to do, he got ready for bed.

THE
outline of something big and dark moved out of the ravine and crept
up the small bank to the back of the apartment buildings. After
sniffing the air for danger, it approached Chip’s apartment. He
knew what a chance it was taking, but the need to check on the one he
wanted drove him to take the risk. Chip hadn’t drunk much that
night, but still….

Tomcat…
really?
The creature shook his massive head. At
least you didn’t drink yourself silly tonight over losing your job,
then get behind the wheel.

The
animal knew where Chip lived, thanks to his granny. For years, he’d
kept a check on the human. He was tired of waiting, dammit, but he
had promised Chip’s granny he’d give the human time. Little did
Chip know the time limit on that promise was about to run out. Death
stalked the land; he sensed it. And when death struck, Chip would
grieve—for that matter, so would he—but the time was
approaching.

He
peeked through the blinds of Chip’s bedroom window. Chip was a
sheet-covered lump in the middle of the bed, hugging a pillow. The
big cat’s heart ached. He could feel Chip’s desperation from
where he stood.

Hang
in there. It won’t be much longer now. Unfortunately, things are
going to get worse before they get better.

Author
bio:

M.A.
Church

M.A.
Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in
the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school
sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening,
walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football,
racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.

But
her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can
remember hunting for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science
fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into the worlds
the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was the
thought that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time,
she would write a book.

By
sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web
and was hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the
journey started. When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading
the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.